


Renegade

by Light_Sumire



Series: The Renegade [1]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Mutual Pining, My First AO3 Post, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, first fanfic in a while
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24782095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Light_Sumire/pseuds/Light_Sumire
Summary: What if Akira had caring parents? What if they were divorced? What if he had to leave town earlier than usual?
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi
Series: The Renegade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1847206
Comments: 37
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy reading this and giving me critique for things that I can do better. I'm also sorry if I give any of you past to present tense whiplash or vice versa. That is something I'm trying to work on but it'll take a bit of work since it is a subconscious thing. I also know that I need to find more ways to end someone talking instead of always just "says".
> 
> The title may also change if I come up with a better title. Same for the summary, I just kinda wrote it so people can have a basic understanding of at least this chapter. The rating may also change as I continue on.

**Itsuki’s House**

**_Bi Bi Bi Bi_ **

He hears his phone going off as he is just waking up. He starts trying to find it as he is reaching for it. He finally grabs it, opens it and answers the person calling.

“Hello, this is Itsuki Kurusu. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to today?” he says groggily.

“Oh, ha ha, you know who this is. Guessing you just woke up?” says the woman on the other side of the line.

“Well, it sure has been a while since I spoke with you, Kiria. Also yes, I did.” says Itsuki as he is getting up out of bed and puts the phone on microphone.

“I know it's been a while since I last called, but I’m calling since it deals with our son Akira”

“What happened to Akira?” Itsuki asks quickly as he starts putting on clothes for the day.

“He got in trouble with the law trying to protect me from this man trying to force himself onto me” Kiria told Itsuki what happened.

“I’m guessing you are calling to see if I’ll take care of him during his time?” Itsuki finally asked after thinking about why she would call him.

“Yes I am, I would have called that cafe you frequently visit to see if they would take care of him, but I wanted to see if you would do it first” Kiria asks hesitantly since she wasn’t sure of it herself.

“Well, I would gladly take care of our son during his probation. I’ll make sure he feels loved just as much as you love him.” Itsuki states as he starts thinking what he would do when Akira shows up.

“Thank you. Knowing Touma, he’s probably already at the house packing Akira’s things so he can already leave.” Kiria relents as she starts thinking what Touma would be doing at this time.

“I better get ready for him than. I need to go grab two umbrella’s now since by the sound of it, he’ll be showing up today” Itsuki brought up as he starts looking around the house for the necessities for the day.

“I would have wanted to spend more time with him before he left, but Touma is insistent that he leaves directly after the trial” Kiria says depressingly.

“Well, take care then, make sure to call him frequently-” Itsuki almost finishes saying before he gets interrupted.

“I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to call him so I can’t try to influence him” Kiria put in before he could finish what he said.

“Oh, well that sucks, then goodbye” Itsuki states as he starts to hang up.

“Goodbye,” Kiria says as she hung up before Itsuki.

\----------------------------------------Take your time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Courthouse**

“We shall now begin the trial for Akira Kurusu” the judge starts.

_Great, this is actually happening._ Thought Akira.

“You are being charged with assault on top of...” the judge continues on after that, but Akira wasn’t paying that much attention to it.

_Man, who knew protecting my mother from a scumbag like that bald guy would end me up here. Who knew he had that much power to set this up. Even though I don’t regret what I did, I wish it didn’t end up like this._ Akira continues.

“You are found guilty” The judge finally finishes.

_Yep, figured that would happen._ Akira thought.

“You will have to move away immediately following this case.You will be under the care of your father who lives in Tokyo while on probation as has been agreed upon by your mother. You will also not be able to contact any family besides your father while on your probation.” The judge says as he lists out the ruling of the case.

_We both figured I wouldn’t be able to contact Mom, but it still hurts knowing I won’t be able to talk to her for a while._ Akira thought once the ruling was all said and done.

“The court is now out of session and you all may leave” the judge finally ended the session, letting everyone leave.

Akira saw his mom waiting for him once he left the courthouse. “Hey Mom” he says as he walks up to her looking a bit depressed.

“Hello son. We should start heading to the train station so we can get you going” she says as she starts walking towards the car.

As they were driving to the train station, Akira continues thinking of ways to apologize to her for what he did.

“Mom, I’m-” Akira starts till he is cut off.

“Don’t you dare say you are sorry. What you did was honorable and I’m glad you did it to protect me.” She brought up with a bit of force behind it.

After a bit of silence between the two.

“Okay. I’ll at least say thank you for always caring for me, even after hearing the ruling.” Akira finally says.

“You are my son Akira, I’ll always love you like a mother should.”

They finally reach the train station where they see Touma waiting, along with a bag presumably filled with the necessities Akira needed.

“Hey squirt, I’m glad I won’t be able to see you for a year.” Touma brought up with a bit of spite behind it.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll be getting out of your hair now.” Akira bit back also with some spite.

“Goodbye son, take care” Kiria says as she starts tearing up.

“Goodbye mom, I’ll be sure to behave while in Tokyo so you can see me sooner rather than later” Akira says as he hugs his mother.

Akira lets go, grabs his stuff and gets on the train headed to Tokyo.

\----------------------------------------Take your time--------------------------------------------------------------

**Shibuya Station Square**

As Akira got off the train and went to walk out into Station Square, he saw this weird app on his phone. As he went to check on it, he felt as though time itself was slowing down around him. He started looking around to see what was happening and saw everyone was frozen. He saw this big blue flame off in the distance. As he was staring at it, he felt that it seemed familiar and saw a flash of him wearing these weird clothes. Once he regained attention after that quick trip, he felt someone poke his shoulder as he heard…

“Hey sonny, it’s been a while since I last saw you”

“DAD!” Akira exclaims as he turns around and hugs him.

“I didn’t expect that response from you since you are usually cool headed” Itsuki is shocked by the amount of force behind the hug.

“Well, it has been a couple of years since I last saw you” Akira says as he let go of the hug he was in.

“Let’s start now by getting you to your new home for this coming year” Itsuki relents as he hands Akira an umbrella.

After grabbing the umbrella and opening it. “I can’t wait to see where I’m going to be staying,” Akira says curiously thinking of what the house might look like.

They start leaving Station Square for the house.

\-----------------------------------------Take your time--------------------------------------------------------------

**A street somewhere in Shibuya**

It starts pouring down as two sisters start their walk home after finishing their practice session. As they were walking, the sister with brown hair tied up in a ponytail looks back at the younger sister. “Today was brutal, huh?” she asks. She was shocked to see how down her sister looked. “Feeling okay?”

The sister shook her head and relented “It’s not that…” She looks down and continues walking as she questions “Why am I doing so bad? I keep messing up my routine…”

The brown haired sister walks in front of her and says “Your growth spurt’s just changed your eye level. You’ll get used to it.” as she smiles at her. She motions her hand up to her little sister's head. “Look! You’re just as tall as I am now.”

The little sister retorts with “We practice the same amount…” The brown haired sister is suddenly surprised. “But you are the one who always gets first place. I can’t catch up to you, Kasumi...”

The girl named Kasumi suddenly leans down to look directly into her sister’s eyes and leans back up and says “You know why?” as she puts a hand over her chest “Because it’s my right as the elder sister.” she says confidently.

“We’re in the same grade, though” the younger sister retorts back.

As Kasumi turns back around and says “Aw, don’t be so down. We’ll reach the top of the world together.” as she looks up to the sky. “That’s our dream, right?”

“You don’t get it…” the sister says, surprising Kasumi. “You’ll never understand how I feel.” she finally says.

“What?” Kasumi questions as she sees her sister just start running away.

As she is running past people, her thoughts start running through her head. _Kasumi… If I were like you...things would be so much better._

“Hey, wait up!” Kasumi tries to say to the now running little sister passing the same groups of people.

_Kasumi’s the one that people want..._ She continues thinking as she is now running to a crosswalk.

“Look where you’re going! The light’s red!” Kasumi yells to try and get her sister’s attention. “Hey!”

_The talented one who CAN reach the top of the world…_ Her thoughts continue as she doesn’t realize she just pushed someone out of the way.

“Sumire, stop! Listen to me!” Kasumi tries again but to no avail. “SUMIRE!” she yells one more time before noticing someone reaching towards her sister.

\----------------------------------------Take your time---------------------------------------------------------------

**A couple minutes prior**

“Man, who knew it would be pouring this hard.” Akira says as he looks up from under the umbrella.

As he finishes saying that, Itsuki looks at him and brings up “Well, I did. That’s why I made sure to bring two umbrella’s.”

“Okay Dad, what are you, some kind of psychic?” Akira questions with a slight smirk on his face.

Itsuki smirks back and says “Maybe I am, or maybe I just looked at the weather report and planned accordingly.”

Akira smiles full force now. “Glad to see you are still witty even after all these years.”

Itsuki is still smirking as he says “Well I did have to take care of you for a bit.” Quickly moving ahead so as to not get slapped by Akira.

After a quick chase between Akira and Itsuki, they finally reach the crosswalk they need to cross to reach their house. They hear a slight commotion behind them and someone yelling at another person to stop. They are curious to see what is happening, but as they turn around they see someone burst from behind them. This person pushes Akira out of the way without realizing it as she just continues running.

Akira notices that the cross light was still red and without thinking, starts reaching to grab the girl who just pushed him out of the way. Even though he barely knows her, his instincts in protecting people are kicking in. He notices a truck coming quickly and tries to move faster to grab her wrist to pull her back. He hears someone behind him yell “SUMIRE!” as he is close to grabbing her wrist.

Suddenly a thud is heard over the noise of the truck speeding past and the rain hitting the ground as something lands a fair distance away from the crosswalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I just did that. Now to see if it is actually the way you think it is.
> 
> I would also like to thank Devoted for reading this chapter to help point out most of the mistakes. Stuff like the past to present tense and vice versa. Also for pointing out I overuse the word "says".
> 
> I have no clue where I'm taking this and just writing as I go along following a basic outline of just the chapter, not the series.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again sorry if there is any past to present or vice versa stuff.

Sumire wasn’t sure what just happened. One moment she was running into the street, the next she was pulled back. She heard a truck speed past as it did hit something but she didn’t care. She is too busy crying in the grasp of the person who just saved her. All she heard from this person is “Are you okay?” with a somewhat deep voice as he strokes her hair.

She then hears a person scuffle off to the side of her as she hears “Looks like her bag got hit as you pulled her back, I’ll go grab it while you try to calm her down.” while also someone running up to them calling her name.

“Sumire, are you okay?” she hears but doesn’t answer instead still trying to calm herself down.

“It seems she is still pretty shaken up after what just happened.” she hears the reply from the person still stroking her hair.

“Yeah, but she seems to be calming down thanks to you…” she hears her sister stop as her sister suddenly realizes and asks “By the way, who are you?”

“Akira Kurusu, but you can call me Akira if you want.” she hears the reply as she starts thinking of his name.

 _Akira huh. What a nice name for someone coming to give me a new dawn._ She smiles and thinks to herself.

“Thank you so much for saving my sister, Akira-san.” she hears her sister say as she looks through her peripherals to see Kasumi bending directly at the waist. She feels Akira tense a bit at that and is curious why but decides to wait to ask. As she sees Kasumi pull herself back up, she also sees some tears coming from Kasumi’s eyes. Which leads her to see her quickly wipe them away as the conversation between them continues.

“So how long are you going to stroke her hair?” her sister asks and gets the reply “Till she tells me to stop.”

Kasumi also asks Akira, “Wait, Kurusu? Are you-” before she is cut off by some footsteps coming up to them as they heard the question “Hm? Aren’t you two Shinichi-san’s daughters?”

She hears Kasumi gasp, quickly turning around, “Kurusu-san!?”

“How many times do I have to tell you Kasumi, you can just call me Itsuki.” she hears the exasperated sigh coming from Itsuki.

“Sorry about that Itsuki-san, you just surprised me since I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” She hears which follows into a question in her mind. 

_Why is Itsuki-san here anyway?_ She thinks to herself and it seems Kasumi is following that same train of thought.

“Why are you here anyway, Itsuki-san?” She hears Kasumi ask.

“Oh right, I’m actually here picking up my son.” She hears as she is pretty sure he looks over at her and hears him say. “Who seems to be getting to know Sumire quite well.”

“Well, she hasn’t told me to stop yet,” she hears Akira say as she feels him look down at her and asks “Do you want me to stop?”

She shakes her head and gets a couple laughs out of the three. As they calm down, they hear Itsuki. “Well, we better get you two home. Your parents are probably worried about you.”

This prompts Kasumi to look at her phone and just as Itsuki had suspected, she had missed calls from her parents. She calls them and tells them what had happened and who they met up with. Itsuki walks over to Akira and Sumire while Kasumi is busy.

“So how long are you gonna hold onto my son, Sumire?” Itsuki asks with a smirk causing both Akira and her to blush a bit. She lets go and walks away a bit. Itsuki walks closer and hands Sumire her bag.

“Thank you…” she whispers under her breath. She is still a bit scared but she didn’t want to be teased by Itsuki-san anymore.

Kasumi walks back to them as she starts with “Okay Sumire, we better get home now, our parents are pretty worried.” as she turns to bow to Itsuki.

Itsuki puts a hand up to stop her as he says “Now before you bow and go on your way, I’m going to walk you guys home since it’s on the way to my home.”

Kasumi is in shock but accepts anyway. Kasumi turns to her sister and reaches for her hand. This causes Sumire to flinch and instinctively reach out to Akira. Kasumi is surprised but starts to think that Sumire is still scared after what happened.

Akira on the other hand is running circles in his head as this girl just grabbed his arm. This causes Akira to blush slightly more since he wasn’t expecting this to happen. He seems to calm himself a bit to ask “So what is your name since you know mine?”

“Sumire Yoshizawa…” she replies, still a bit reserved, but not as much as before. She also adds on with “You can also call me Sumire if you want, Akira-san.”

“Okay Sumire-san, we should-” Akira starts saying before he is cut off.

“Just Sumire.” Sumire says with a bit of force causing Akira to look at her.

“Then you can just call me Akira in that case, no honorifics.” Akira replies as he smiles down at her.

Sumire blushes a bit at his smile. She isn’t sure why, but his presence made her feel safe. Even though she barely knows Akira, he feels like someone she can trust a bit. Her mind finally catches up with her as she stammers out a response. “S-s-s-sure… Aki-Ak-Akira.”

Itsuki notices them lagging a bit behind and with a smirk on his face says “You two lovebirds better hurry up or we’ll leave you behind.” Which in turn made Kasumi look over at them and also had a smirk on her face at what she saw. This in turn made Akira and Sumire blush even more but Sumire didn’t let go of him.

They now head to the twins house in almost complete silence due to it still raining.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Road to the twins house**

Sumire is still holding onto Akira’s arm when they turn onto the street with her house. She hears Kasumi tell her “Hey, we’re almost home. Shouldn’t you start letting go of him?” which only caused her to tighten her grip. She isn’t prepared for him to leave just yet. As they approach their house, she sees Itsuki-san knock on the door and before he even put his hand down to wait, the door flew open.

She hears the panic in her dad's voice when he asks “Are you two okay!? When I heard what happened, I wasn’t sure what to think. I wanted to run to get you two, but you told me Itsuki was with you. I know I can trust him, but until I saw you two, I wasn’t sure what to think.” as he turns to Sumire and the arm she is currently grabbing onto. She sees his face go from panic, to worry, finally landing on confusion.

She sees him walk up to them and asks “Who are you and why is my daughter holding onto you?” Which prompts Kasumi to walk up behind him and tell him “This is Akira Kurusu, he’s the one that pulled Sumire out of the street before the truck hit her.”

She sees Akira raise his free arm to give a handshake to her dad and says “Nice to meet you Yoshizawa-san.” Her dad took his hand and shook it and replies with “Nice to meet you too.”

Which she then sees her father come to a realization and asks “Wait, Kurusu? Are you-” which is cut off by Ituski saying “I’m standing right here, you know.” This made her dad jump and quickly turn to him and replied “Sorry about that Itsuki, I was in such a rush that I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s no problem Shinichi, but to answer your question. Yes, he’s my son.” she hears as she sees her dad finally come to understanding.

She isn’t prepared to hear Akira’s voice beside her say “Well, guess this is where we part ways for now.” In turn, making her tighten her grip more as she didn’t want him to leave. She then tries her best to steel herself and slowly let go so Akira can have his arm back. She quickly hugs him and runs inside before anyone could see her blush. She enters her room and hides underneath her covers.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Akira’s view after Sumire ran inside**

Akira is shocked at what just happened and as he looks around at everyone else, he sees the twins dad is also in shock. This day so far has been full of surprises he isn’t expecting.

“Heh, first day in Tokyo and you already have someone who likes you, and it’s a girl to boot.” He hears his dad say to him with a slight smirk. This made Akira blush a bit more and elicit the response “I wasn’t exactly trying to have that happen.”

He sees the twins dad has finally recovered after seeing what his daughter just did. He turns to Akira leading him to say “Well, seeing what just happened, you are more than welcome to come hang out with Sumire when you have some free time. She seems to enjoy having you around.”

Akira got a bit self conscious since he didn’t see this happening at all today. He just reaches up and grabs a few strands of hair and twists it around and replies with a thank you.  
He hears the twins dad laugh a bit and goes on with “Well, I better not keep you two. You still have a house to go see now don’t you Akira-kun?”

“Oh, yes Yoshizawa-san.” he replies a bit fast.

The twins dad laughs a bit more and says “Please, you can just call me Shinichi seeing as to how much Sumire likes you.”

Akira blushes a bit more at the mention of that and stammers out “O-okay, Shinichi-san.”

He then hears his dad laugh a bit at him and says “Come on son, let's get you to your new home. I promise I won’t tease you too much about your new relationship.” He sees his dad start walking backwards a bit as he starts giving chase to him. Before he gets too far though, he hears Shinichi-san chuckle a bit and then sees him lead Kasumi inside.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Outside Itsuki’s House**

Akira isn’t sure what to think when he sees the house. He was expecting the house to be big, but not this big. He is standing in front of this two story house. He heard his dad say that it had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms along with the other necessities like a kitchen and what not.

He sees his dad move to the front door and opens it. He makes a bowing motion and says “After you” in this pompous voice. This elicits a laugh out of Akira shaking him out of his dumbfoundedness. He replies in his own pompous voice “Why thank you.”

They enter the house still acting all pompous like and closing the door before breaking out into a laughing fit. After that and calming down a bit, they decide to have dinner after the long day they both just went through.

They finish eating and put their dishes in the sink, which then leads to showing Akira around the house. Itsuki asks “Which room do you want to use?” pointing to two rooms. Akira decides to take the room farthest from the master bedroom. He enters and sees there are the base necessities needed like a bed, dresser, and surprisingly a table. As he is about to sit on the bed, he hears a knock. He goes to open it and sees dad holding two blankets asking “Which one do you want to use?”

He sees a red blanket with some black on it in one hand and another blanket that is just full black. Akira grabs the red one earning him a look and smirk from dad. “Ooh, is this because of Sumire?” which earned him a slam of the door from Akira. He’s blushing slightly as he heads for his bed. As he starts laying down, he notices a weird app on his phone. It looks like an eyeball with a star for the iris.

 _What a weird app._ He thought to himself. _May as well delete it since I know I didn’t install it._ As he deletes it before finally going to sleep.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**The next day**

Akira wakes up slowly blocking out the sun from hitting his eyes. He never had to worry about this back home since the sun didn’t come up this early there. He got up out of bed and went to the kitchen to see if his dad’s there. As he heads down the stairs, he hears the clinking of dishes and a smell of… Pancakes?

He finally reaches the kitchen as his dad turns around and sees him. He smiles and asks “You hungry?” getting a reply from the stomach. Akira is slightly embarrassed at that but continues to go sit at the table. His dad laughs a bit as he continues cooking the pancakes.

As he finishes cooking and sets the pancakes on the table, they start eating. Dad tells Akira “You won’t have to worry about going to school for a bit. I haven’t found a school yet that will take you.” Akira isn’t that surprised by the little amount of schools his dad went to and none would take him.

“So, instead of you just sitting around all day, I’ll be taking you to a cafe I frequent.” His dad continues. _Huh, visiting a cafe today. Maybe I could use that to-_ His mind continues before it is suddenly cut off by his dad saying, “You could use this to get closer with Sumire.” making Akira blush a bit since he was just about to think that.

Itsuki laughs and says “Well, that is if the owner of the place will hire you.” making Akira think of who this owner could be. They finish their breakfast.

“Well, since we’re done eating. Lets go get ready for the day now shall we.” he hears Itsuki say.

They both head to their bathrooms taking a shower. Once they finish and get new clothes on, they head out for the day heading to that cafe.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Yongen-Jaya**

As they get off the train, he hears his dad say “Ah, Yongen-Jaya, such a quaint place with not that many people.” He then sees his dad turn to him and ask “So you ready to see this cafe?”

Akira smiles at him and exclaims “Yep! I want to see how good this cafe is that it has my dad mesmerized” finishing off with a smirk. This causes his dad to laugh a bit at that.

They continue walking and make a right and then pretty quickly turn to the left. Akira looks up at the sign and reads out “Leblanc”. His dad on the other hand just continues walking in.

He hears a gruff voice say when his dad enters “Ah, Itsuki. It’s a surprise to see you so soon.” which gets the reply “Well, I did want to introduce my son to this place Boss.”

Akira finally enters behind his father and sees a shocked look on who he presumes is the owner of the place. Akira bows and says “Nice to meet you, I’m Akira Kurusu.” As he leans back up, he sees the shock disappear from the owners face and is instead replaced with a smile. He sees the man stroke his goatee and says “Nice to meet you too. My name is Sojiro Sakura, but you can call me Boss if you want to.”

As Akira and Itsuki take a seat, Sojiro asks “So what’ll it be today for you two?” Itsuki, seeing as Akira had never been here before, just says “Whatever you recommend.” Sojiro continues working on what he was already cooking and starts making some coffee for the two.

Sojiro turns to Akira and asks “So how long you been here and what’s the story behind it?”

Akira looks up at him and responds with “A day, and the story why is that I got arrested for protecting my mom from some sleazebag trying to force himself on her.” This causes Sojiro to look a bit surprised but regains his composure as he continues making the coffee and curry.

Itsuki finally remembers the other thing he is going to ask and asks “Oh yeah Boss, I was curious about something.” Akira caught on, blushes a bit, and quickly hides his face. Sojiro looks at it happen and then turns to Itsuki. “So what is it you want to ask?”

Itsuki looks at Akira and with a smirk says “I was curious if you could hire Akira and teach him some of the things you know.” This causes Sojiro to raise his brow in question and Itsuki continues on with “He has a lady I bet he wants to impress.”

Sojiro smirks at that and says “Sure, I’ll teach him some of the things I know. It would be a shame for him to disappoint this lady.” And this raises a question in Sojiro “Care explaining how he already knows someone here?”

Itsuki smiles at that and responds, “Well, he saved her yesterday from getting hit from a truck. On the way to their house, she wouldn’t let go of his arm.”

Sojiro also smiles at that. Once he heard that, he knew he had to teach him in the ways of cooking. Akira looks up at Sojiro wondering why he isn’t saying anything. Sojiro looks up as he remembers a happy memory and says “Back when I was young, hoo boy.”

This causes Itsuki to look at him and responds “Okay Boss, we don’t need to hear a story right now. Shouldn’t you be worrying about the coffee and curry right now?” This causes Sojiro to get back to work.

Sojiro finishes cooking, hands them their food and coffee, and they eat in relative silence. Akira is taken on a journey from how amazing the curry tastes. He never had anything like this back at home, so he knew he ought to learn from Sojiro and try to impress Sumire with this.

They finish for the day and say goodbye to Sojiro before he tells Akira the days he expects him to be here. Akira nods his head as assurance that he will be there to help and learn from Sojiro.

They get on the train home to finally end their day. Even though it isn’t as eventful as yesterday, Akira still had fun and he now had a way to spend the coming month while waiting for his father to find a school for him.

They get home and as Akira is about to go to bed, he notices that weird app again on his phone.

 _Weird, thought I already deleted this thing._ He thought to himself. _Might as well delete it again._ He thinks as he deletes it again. He finally falls asleep after doing that.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**???**

As Akira starts opening his eyes, he hears what he thinks is a piano and the sounds of chains. He finally pulls himself up as he notices he is not wearing his pajamas anymore but instead seems like a prison uniform. He looks over and sees someone that is about to speak to him.

“Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet Room.” the man's voice booms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Devoted for reading through this to spot any mistakes and saying if I did do the usual thing I do with the tenses.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same old warnings, past to present vice versa.

_Velvet… Room?_ Akira thinks to himself as he continues to get up and look around. _This looks more like a prison than a room._ As he continues to get up though, he finally sees two little girls standing in front of the bars. As he tries to walk towards the bars, he feels something on his leg. He looks to see what it is and sees this giant iron ball. He finally reaches the bars to see who spoke to him and sees this man with a long nose. _Okay, hopefully this is only a dream._

“So you’ve come to, Inmate” the girl to his right says as he looks at her.

“The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream.” the girl on the left says to him as he looks to her.

 _What? Reality? Currently fast asleep? A dream?_ Akira questions as his thoughts try to catch up to him after hearing that. _Well, at least one of those answers is what I thought before._

“You are in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!” the girl on the right barks at him.

“Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.” The man with a pretty deep voice and long nose says. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter.” He continues as Akira looks over at the chains currently on his wrists. “It is a room that only those who are bound by a ‘contract’ may enter.”

 _A ‘contract’? What does this guy even mean when he says that?_ Akira questions as the long nosed man continues on.

“I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well.” Igor says as Akira finally now has a name for the long nosed man. “I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well as those you have grown close to.” Igor finishes as Akira’s thoughts go back to racing.

 _My life? Those I’ve grown close to? Does that mean if I don’t comply, me and those people will die?_ Akira thinks as he finally replies with “Important matters?”

“Still, this is a surprise…” Igor says as he starts to look around. “The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a ‘prisoner’ of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you and those you have grown close to.” Igor finishes as he turns back to look at Akira.

 _What does he mean by ruin? And again with the ‘those I’ve grown close to’, what does he mean?_ Akira thinks as he tries to understand this man named Igor.

“Ruin?” Akira asks. “And what do you mean by ‘those I’ve grown close to’?”

Igor chuckles to himself before answering. “Those are fine questions indeed. Of course you would be confused as I layed this all on you at once.” Igor responds as he thinks on these questions.

Akira starts shaking the cage. He was about to ask again as Igor responds, “First, Let us talk about the ruin headed your way. Worry not. There is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be ‘rehabilitated.’ Rehabilitated toward freedom… That is your only means to avoid ruin… Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?” Igor finally asks.

Akira thinks on this for a second before finally responding with “I’d rather avoid ruin, thank you.”

“Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation.” Igor says as the twins turn towards Akira. “Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here.” Igor finishes as the one on the right, Caroline, starts talking to him.

“Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like.” Caroline says as Justine starts, “The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators… That is, if you remain obedient.” Justine finishes with a somewhat ominous warning.

Igor starts speaking again. “I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion. For now, you have another question correct?” Igor asks as he waves his hand towards Akira to ask it again.

“Huh, oh yes. What did you mean when you said ‘those I’ve grown close to’?” Akira asks again.

Igor chuckles as he starts explaining what he means by that. “You see, before even coming here, you’ve already formed a bond with someone though you weren’t aware of it at the time and are close to forming another. These bonds will help you with your rehabilitation. Make sure to form as many bonds as you can.” Igor finishes explaining.

Akira starts thinking about what he means before Igor interrupts Akira’s thoughts. “Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…” As Igor finishes, an alarm blares.

Akira looks around to see where it came from but to no luck. _That must mean our time is up for now._ Akira thinks to himself.

Caroline turns to Akira. “Time’s up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep.” She finishes as Akira tries to open the cell one more time.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Itsuki’s House**

As Akira woke up from that weird dream, he remembers that today is his first day on the job at Leblanc. He starts going downstairs to eat breakfast before he finally notices all the pictures on the walls.

 _Huh, how did I miss these pictures?_ He questions to himself as he looks at what they are. _Heh, these are back when we lived as a family. Those were great times._ He smiles as he continues looking at the pictures. _Why did they get divorced-_

He wasn’t able to finish that thought as he suddenly got a headache after reaching a picture and looking at it. He yells out as the headache is getting too painful. He hears his dad run up the stairs as fast as he could and quickly grab hold of him.

“Hey, what’s wrong!” Itsuki exclaims as he tries to calm Akira down. Itsuki tries to think what could be wrong as he finally notices the pictures. He quickly takes them down and puts them in his room away from Akira.

Akira finally starts calming down and his thoughts catch up with him. _What the hell? Why did that suddenly happen?_ He questions to himself as his father comes back trying to make sure his son is okay.

“Hey, are you feeling any better?” Itsuki questions as he looks at the still crumpled Akira on the ground.

Akira looks up at his dad and lets go of his head. “Yeah, I’m feeling better, though I have no clue why that happened.”

“I have an idea, but I won’t say it in front of you in case it triggers a relapse of some sort.” Itsuki says as he pulls Akira up and leads him to his room to rest.

Akira looks at where they are heading. “Hey dad, I don’t need to rest. It was only a headache.” He says as his father just sets him down on his bed.

“Listen son, what happened isn’t something you can just shake off” Itsuki says in a serious tone as it catches Akira off guard. “I don’t want you exerting yourself right now and getting hurt, I’ll tell Boss what happened.” Itsuki finishes.

Akira looks downtrodden but doesn’t argue. “Okay dad, I’ll be sure to rest up and get better.”  
Itsuki smirks at him. “You better, you don’t want your girlfriend to worry about you now would you.”

Akira’s face feels like it’s melting after that comment. “DAD! SHE ISN’T MY GIRLFRIEND!” Akira exclaims as he tries to slap his dad away.

As soon as dad leaves, Akira is left alone with his thoughts. He lays down and just lets himself calm down after the teasing his dad did. That headache on top of that just left him exhausted and sleep came back over him.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Itsuki’s View**

Itsuki closes the door, pulls out his phone and heads downstairs. He opens the contacts list, pulls up Sojiro’s number and calls him. A couple of rings later and the call connects.

“What’s up Itsuki?” the gruff voice of Sojiro asks on the other end of the line.

“Hey Boss, I’m telling you that Akira won’t be able to make it today.” Itsuki replies as he waits for the response.

“Really, is there a reason why?”

“It seems he finally noticed the pictures I had hung up about the past.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Well, one of them led to the reason why me and Kiria divorced.”  
“Ah, so a repressed memory of sorts than?”

“That’s what I’m assuming.”

“Well, thanks for telling me. Make sure he gets lots of rest, you hear?”

“He’s already back asleep, so that isn’t much of a problem.”  
“Good. Well, take care Itsuki.”

“Take care Boss.” Itsuki says as he hangs up. He then notices that he has some text messages from Shinichi. He opens the chat to see what they were.

Shinichi: Hey Itsuki.

I was curious if your son was interested in Sumire.

 _Ah, so he probably asked Sumire something._ Itsuki thought to himself as he started to reply.

Itsuki: Hey Shinichi.

I’m pretty sure he has some interest in Sumire.

Shinichi: Oh, why do you say that?

Itsuki: I teased him a bit about her being his girlfriend and he slapped me away while he

was embarrassed.

Why, did you get something out of Sumire that hints that she has feelings for

Akira?

Shinichi: Yep. I was asking her some questions and surprised her.

I asked “So do you love Akira?” and she replied with a “Yes” like it was nothing.

She realized the question too late and got embarrassed and ran to her room.

Itsuki: Ooh. How did Saki react?

Shinichi: Exactly how you expected after learning what Akira did for Sumire.

Itsuki: Started “shipping” them as she would call it?

Shinichi: Yep. Even though she barely knows Akira, she’s already okay with him dating

Sumire. Though she would like to see Akira to better know him.

Well, I’m also fine with Akira dating Sumire. 

Sumire looks so happy when she thinks about Akira.

At least, I’m pretty sure she is thinking about Akira.

Itsuki: Well, I’m fine with them dating too. Gives me more teasing material over Akira.

It just depends on them if they do want to get together.

Shinichi: That is true.

Well, that is all I wanted to say.

Have a good day Itsuki.

Itsuki: You too Shinichi.

When Itsuki finishes talking with Shinichi, he continues trying to find a school that will accept Akira. Even though it took him a while, he did finally find one. They set up an appointment to meet up with the principal around a month later.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the month passed by uneventfully for Akira. He either went to go work at Leblanc to get better at cooking, went to work at his other part time job he applied for at the Triple 7 store, or just went to the gym to work out.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/10 - Itsuki’s House (Morning)**

Akira woke up feeling refreshed. He got up, took a shower, and put on the uniform he is supposed to wear today for when they meet the principal. He goes down the stairs to meet up with his dad who is already ready to go.

“Hey sonny, ready to go?” Itsuki asks as he looks at Akira in his new uniform.

“Yep.” Akira replies, just wanting to get this day over with.

“That’s good. Come on, we should get this over with as fast as possible.” Itsuki replies as he opens the front door and starts heading for the car.

“Not looking forward to this either?” Akira asks as they reach the car.

“Not at all, especially with how they might treat you.” Itsuki says as he opens the car door, gets in and starts it.

“They’ll probably treat me like I’m some kind of nuisance.” Akira replies as he gets in on the passenger side.

“No point in wondering when we can just see for ourselves.” Itsuki says as that finishes the conversation.

Akira just sighs as he looks out the window. The ride to the school was relatively quiet, minus all the other cars making noise.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/10 - Shujin Academy (Noon)**

“Well, here we are, your new school.” Itsuki says as he looks at the school. “Shujin Academy, the only school that was willing to take you.”

Akira just looks at the school. _This looks more like a prison then an actual school._ He thinks to himself as he just stands there.

“Well, we better get this over with as fast as we can.” Itsuki says, breaking Akira out of his thoughts.

They head to the principal’s office to finish this. When they got there, they weren’t expecting to see an egg shaped man sitting behind a desk. They also see a woman in the room, assuming she might be Akira’s teacher. The principal does some talking and hands Itsuki some papers. Itsuki signs them as the principal starts talking again.

“To reiterate, just so we’re clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems.” The principal says looking at Akira. “In my opinion, you’re nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider…”

 _So you want to use me to gain popularity._ Akira thinks to himself. _Go figure. A school that reformed a criminal would become popular._

“Whatever you might’ve gotten away with in your hometown… those days are over. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind.”

 _Well yeah, your school was the only one that wanted to accept me._ He thinks, keeping it to himself.

“This is the teacher in charge of your class.” The principal says, looking over at the woman in the yellow shirt.

“I’m Sadayo Kawakami.” The woman says in a monotone voice. “Here’s your student ID.” As she places something on the desk.

Akira sees the ID, but also something else underneath it. _Hm, what is-_ He wasn’t able to finish that thought as the teacher quickly grabs it and stows it away. He then reaches and grabs his ID.

“Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won’t be able to protect you at all.” She says as she turns to the principal. “...That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?”

The principal affirms and looks over at Akira. “He is responsible for all his actions.”

 _Well yeah, that is called being responsible._ Akira thinks as he just wants this to be over with.

Itsuki has also had enough. “Do you mind if we wrap this up? I don’t want to take any more of your time.” He says in a strained tone.

“Ah yes, sorry about that.” The principal replies. “That’s all we wanted to tell you today, so you can go now.”

“Thank you” Itsuki says as he heads out of the office. Akira follows closely behind. They get close to the entrance as Itsuki finally decides to break the silence between them.

“So, what do you think of the school?” Itsuki asks, looking over at Akira.

“Well, besides the fact it looks like a prison, I’ll survive.” Akira replies.

“So you thought that too. No surprise really, it does look like a prison.”

“We better get home before we annoy any more of the teachers.”

Itsuki replies with a yeah as they head to the car. They get in and start heading home. He puts on the radio to distract from the ever slow moving traffic. He’s curious why traffic is moving so slowly today.

“Now, back to today’s top stories.” A newscaster on the radio says. “A subway train has derailed, severely affect the timetable across all of-”

“Ah, so that’s why traffic is moving slowly,” Itsuki says. “You’ll be taking the train from tomorrow onward. I would take you, but I need to focus on my work.”  
“It’s okay dad, focus on what you need to do.” Akira replies followed by him whispering, “Anything to get away from you teasing me 24/7.”

The ride continues as they finally reach the house.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/10 - Itsuki’s House (Evening)**

After they finish eating dinner, they start heading to bed. Akira was tired after that encounter with the egg shaped principal.

“Oh yeah, before I forget, I need to give you this journal.” Itsuki says as he digs out a journal from his pocket.

“Why do I need a journal?” Akira asks, looking at his father.

“It’s for your probation. I need you to record your daily activities.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to write in it.”

“Well, we better head to bed now. You do still have school to go to tomorrow.”  
“Right. Goodnight dad, have nice dreams.”

“Night son, hope you have some nice dreams.”

Akira was pretty sure what he meant by that, but he didn’t want to give his dad the satisfaction of him getting embarrassed. They head to their rooms. Akira pulls out his phone to look at which train he needs to get on. He notices that weird app back on his phone again.

 _Seriously? How many times do I have to delete this stupid thing?_ He questions as he deletes it once again. He finally falls asleep after deleting it again.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/11 - Itsuki’s House (Early Morning)**

“Welp, first day of school here I come.” Akira says as he gets out of bed. He takes a shower, puts on his uniform and heads downstairs. He sees Itsuki in the kitchen.

“Hey son, come eat something before you leave.” Itsuki says looking over at Akira.

Akira heads over and sees that his dad made curry.

“Curry for breakfast?” Akira asks, looking over at his dad.

“Blame Boss, he’s made it to where I can cook a version of his curry whenever.”

“Well, his curry is great. So if you are able to make something like it, I’m not going to complain.”  
Itsuki laughs at that. “He’ll be happy to hear that you love his curry.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Akira asks, still eating the curry.

“Right, now hurry up so you can get to school.”

Akira finishes the curry and heads out. He gets on the right train in time. 

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/11 - Aoyama-Itchome (Morning)**

As Akira exits the platform, he sees that it is now raining.

 _Great, and I forgot an umbrella today._ He thinks as he heads for cover under an awning. He pulls out his phone to see how far away he is. He then sees someone run past him to stand underneath the same awning. The person takes off their hood to reveal blond hair. Akira wasn’t sure what to think of this person, so he just stares at her. The girl wrings out some water from her clothes and finally notices Akira staring at her. She smiles at him and turns her attention back to the road.

A car pulls up and stops near them. Akira sees the window rolling down and sees this man with a really rectangular jaw.

“Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school?” The man asks the girl. “You’re gonna be late.”

“Um sure, thank you.” The girl replies a bit hesitant. She then heads to the car and gets in.

The man then looks over at Akira. “Do you need a lift too?” He asks.

Akira was surprised. “Oh, no thank you. I’ll be fine.” He replies.

Akira sees the man roll the window back up and drives away. He then hears footsteps running up to and past him. He sees this blond guy looking a bit angry.

“Dammit, screw that pervy teacher.” The blond guy angrily says.

“Pervy… teacher?” Akira questions. Unbeknownst to him, the app he thought he deleted is back on his phone and is now open.

The blond dude turns to him and walks up to him asking “...What do you want? You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?”

Akira looks at the guy confused. “Kamoshida?”

It was now the blond guy's turn to be confused. “You mean you don’t know who Kamoshida is? You go to Shujin, correct?”

“I think so?” Akira questions back.

“You are wearing our uniform.” The blond guy then notices the second year button. “A second year huh? Never seen you around before.”

Akira replies with “I just transferred yesterday, today is my first day.”

The blond now has a face of understanding. “Ah, no wonder why I’ve never seen you before. That also means you don’t know about Kamoshida.”

“Who is this ‘Kamoshida’ you keep bringing up?” Akira questions the blond.

“The guy in the car. He’s an olympic gold medalist who thinks of the school as his own castle.” The blond says making the app on Akira’s phone start working.

They both get a headache clutching their heads. After it lets up, they continue the conversation.

“So, who even are you?” Akira questions the blond.

“Ah, that’s right, I haven’t introduced myself.” The blond says. “I’m Ryuji Sakamoto, a 2nd year student at Shujin. Come on, I know a shortcut to the school.”

Akira realizes he also hasn’t introduced himself either. As they continue walking through the alley. “I’m Akira Kurusu by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Akira.” Ryuji says looking behind him at Akira.

“First name basis already?” Akira questions.

As Ryuji was about to respond, Akira notices that the school doesn’t look like a school anymore.

“Um Ryuji, this is the school correct?” Akira says putting toward where the school should be.

Akira looks over at Ryuji and also sees he has a flabbergasted look on his face. _Okay, so this isn’t the school. So what is it then?_ Akira thinks as he now looks at the castle.

“Let’s go in and ask for some directions,” Ryuji says, looking over at Akira.

They head inside to figure out where they are.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**‘Shujin Academy’?**

When they reach inside, a guard walks up to them, almost scaring Ryuji.

“Woah dude, you almost got me there.” Ryuji says, looking at the guy in armor. “That is some pretty cool armor though.”

“How dare you enter the castle without permission,” The man in armor says, hitting Ryuji to the ground.

 _What the hell, are we not supposed to be here?_ Akira thinks as they are now surrounded by more men in armor.

“Akira, get out-” He wasn’t able to finish hearing what Ryuji said as he was knocked out by getting hit with a shield.

\----------------------------------------Take Your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**???**

“Hey Akira.”

He hears those words as he feels hands trying to shake him up. He starts to stir and get up as Ryuji now backs away.

“You okay dude?” Ryuji asks, looking a bit concerned.

“Yeah, you?” Akire replies, leading into making sure Ryuji was also okay.

Ryuji looks relieved and starts looking around the cell. “I’m fine, though we gotta find a way outta here.”

Akira looks around at the things around the cell before they both heard a scream coming from further in.

“What the hell was that?” Ryuji asks, looking over at Akira.

They then both hear footsteps as they see a group of knights walk up to their cage.

“Be happy your punishment has been decided. You two will be put to death for breaking and entering.” The knight says as they open the door.

“WHAT!?” Ryuji and Akira both exclaim.

“Huh, I was curious who broke into my castle, but to think it would be you Sakamoto.” A man behind the knights walks forward.  
Ryuji looks at the man surprised. “Kamoshida?”

 _That doesn’t look like the man I saw this morning. At least, he wasn’t wearing just a red cape covered in hearts and wearing a pink speedo._ Akira thinks to himself look at this man.

‘Kamoshida’ kicks Ryuji in the gut and yells “THATS KING KAMOSHIDA TO YOU, PEASANT!”

Ryuji is on the ground now getting beat up by ‘Kamoshida’.

“You’re hurting him, stop it!” Akira exclaims looking at the man.

‘Kamoshida’ stops and looks over at Akira. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am?” He asks. “That look in your eye irritates me.” He says, leading into him kicking Akira in the gut. “After he is executed, it’ll be your turn.”

Akira tries to run up to ‘Kamoshida” to stop him, but the guards stop Akira instead. He tries to find ways to get them off so he can help Ryuji, but to no avail.

_This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of_

_winning are almost none._

Akira now hears a voice in his head as he sees a blue butterfly in front of him.

_But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet_

_be a possibility open to you._

The butterfly disappears from his view and he hears a new voice in his head.

**_What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch?_ **

_I want to help, but I don’t have the power to help._ Akira responds to the new voice in his head.

**_Are you forsaking him to save yourself?_ **

_NO! This is a situation where I am powerless right now._ Akira again responds, but the voice doesn’t seem to care.

**_Death awaits him if you do nothing._ **

**_Were your previous decisions a mistake then?_ **

The voice asks as a scene of the man trying to force his way on his mother. Which was followed by a scene of where he saved Sumire from getting hit.

 _Hell no they weren’t._ Akira responds as the voice now chuckles.

**_Very well… I have heeded your resolve._ **

Akira starts struggling to break free from the hands holding him back. He then feels a rush of pain go to his head.

**_Vow to me._ **

**_I am thou, thou art I…_ **

**_Though who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!_ **

**_Call upon my name, AND RELEASE THY RAGE!_ **

Akira then screams out after hearing those words.

**_Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!_ **

“Execute him!” ‘Kamoshida’ orders as Akira finally understands what he must do.

“I will stop you.” Akira says causing ‘Kamoshida’ to just look at him.

“What was that?”

“Heh, you heard me.” Akira says looking smugly at ‘Kamoshida’.

“Looks like you want be executed first.” ‘Kamoshida’ says as he orders the guards to get on with it.

Akira is hit with a shield again and his glasses fly off. A guard raises a sword to prepare for the strike when a gust of wind comes out from underneath Akira. He looks up and feels something on his face that wasn’t there before. He starts trying to grab it and when he finally gets a good hold of it, he starts tearing it off. He could feel it tearing skin and making blood pour down his face but it didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt right to do this.

Once he is able to get it off, he looks at the other occupants in the room with this scary determined look. He is surrounded by blue fire as his clothes start changing. Once the clothes finish changing, a demon appears behind him. Akira waves his hand around and the demon follows it with his wings, making a gust of wind happen blowing the guards away.

Ryuji looks at Akira, dumbfounded at what he is seeing. He wasn’t sure what to think since this person he just met now has something that looks like a demon standing behind them.

 **_I am the pillager of twilight- “_ ** **_Arsène_ ** **_”!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to VitaminLuce for reading this chapter and suggesting edits I should do. Yep, this time Devoted wasn't the beta reader.


	4. Chapter 4

**_I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you._ **

**_If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis._ **

“You already know my answer.” Akira says as he smirks to Arsène. “Grant me your power.”

**_Hmph, very well…_ **

“You break into my castle, attack me and my guards, and think you’ll get out of here alive?” ‘Kamoshida’ questions as he walks up to Akira. “Who in the hell do you think you are?”

“Heh, I’ll be your worst nightmare if you don’t get out of my way.” Akira smugly replies as he looks at ‘Kamoshida’.

“Guards, attack him now!” ‘Kamoshida’ orders as the guards on the ground stand back up. “Start by killing that one!”

As he finishes saying that, the guards explode into this gooey liquid. Akira just stares at it not knowing what to think as Ryuji is still on the ground in awe. What came out of the gooey liquid were these floating Jack-o-Lantern like things.

“Prepare to learn the true strength of my men, peasant!” ‘Kamoshida’ exclaims as the guards start attacking Akira.

**_This power of mine is yours!_ **

He hears Arsène say this as he starts preparing to fight these creatures.

**_Kill them however you want._ **

**_Run wild to your heart’s content!_ **

As soon as he finishes hearing Arsène say that, a wild smile appears on Akira’s face as he starts rushing toward one of these floating Jack-O-Lanterns. He slashes at it with a knife making it flinch back in pain. The Jack-O-Lanterns then attack back, one of them spinning and hitting Akira in the face, causing himself to spin. The other just rams into Akira making him slide back. He then rushes at the one he originally attacked and attacks it again with his knife, slicing and killing it this time. The remaining Jack-O-Lantern attacks back by ramming head first into Akira’s head, causing Akira to scramble backwards.

 _Hey Arsène, do you have any magic attacks?_ Akira questions his inner self as he gets a response rather quickly. **_Yes I do, it is called Eiha. Make sure to use it well._ **

He smirks at that as he raises a hand to his mask instinctively. “EIHA!” he yells as he tears off his mask. This causes Arsène to appear behind him and raises his hand to the remaining enemy. A black like substance then erupts from the ground beneath it, engulfing it in an energy that Akira wasn’t sure of yet. It didn’t do enough to kill it, but it was obvious that it did do most of its health. The Jack-O-Lantern just hits Akira again with his lamp not doing as much damage to Akira as the first one did. Akira rushes in for the kill, thrusting his knife forward, finally ending the battle.

 _Damn, that felt great._ Akira thinks to himself as he just stands there. **_Make sure you get used to this feeling, you’ll have more battles ahead just to get out of here._ ** Arsène says in response to Akira’s inner dialogue. _Are you going to be talking to me from now on?_ Akira questions as he wants to make sure that he doesn’t say anything too embarrassing. **_Yes I am, I am you as you are me after all._ **

Akira looks over at Ryuji, who still looks dumbfounded at what he is looking at. Akira finally notices he is wearing different clothes and starts looking all over his body. ‘Kamoshida’ walks over and tries to get back at Akira for what he did.

“You little…” is all ‘Kamoshida’ could say before Ryuji got up and rushes into him, knocking him over.

“Ha, how do you like that, dirtbag!” Ryuji exclaims as he stares at the person he just knocked over.

“Quick, grab the keys!” Akira orders as he runs out and is prepared to close the door behind them.

“Huh, you mean these?” Ryuji questions as he runs behind Akira and grabs the keys. Ryuji then inserts a key into the lock and locks the door, trapping ‘Kamoshida’ in the cell.

“Damn you peasants!” ‘Kamoshida’ exclaims as he starts getting up and walking toward them.

“Hey, you have any clue what just happened to you, and what about your clothes?” Ryuji asks multiple questions, all of which Akira didn’t know the answer to.

“I have no clue about anything going on right” Akira replies as he is once again surrounded by blue fire and the Shujin uniform he was wearing returns. “Huh...”

“Woah, it went back to normal” Ryuji also says looking at Akira. He then yells as ‘Kamoshida’ shakes the bars.

“You bastards!” ‘Kamoshida’ yells at them. “Let me out of here this instant so I can beat you up!”

“Like hell we would let you out” Ryuji replies as he turns around and throws the keys into the water behind them. “Come on, let’s get out of this place.” he says running past Akira.

They run away from the cell as they hear ‘Kamoshida’ yelling some orders behind them. They jump across areas either cause they were broken or there was no clear path forward. They sneak past some guards and reach stairs that lead upwards.

“Is this the way out of here?” Ryuji asks as he opens the door. “The hell, we are still in the dungeons?”

“Come on, let's just continue.” Akira says as he continues running past Ryuji.

As they continue running through the dungeon, they spot other people locked up hanging over the water. They run past them continuing down the path.

“Seriously, a dead end?!” Ryuji exclaims as they reach a wall signaling the end of the path. Now they hear a new unknown voice.

“Hey, let me out of here!” They hear as they look down to see a… cat?

“Are you like some kind of cat?” Akira asks the cat looking monster.

“I AM NOT A CAT!” the cat yells at him as he transfers into a question. “You guys aren’t guards here right, please let me out?”

“How are we supposed to know this ain’t a trap?” Ryuji asks the cat.

“I’m locked up in here, asking for help… Yeah, guess that does sound like a trap.” The cat finally admits. “But I swear I’m not a guard here, I’ll help lead you out of here if you do.”

“Okay fine, we’ll let you out.” Akira lets out an exasperated sigh. “Do you know where the keys are?” He asks.

“Right over there, on that wall.” The cat says pointing over at the wall next to the cage.

 _Wow, that is some bad security._ Akira thinks as he grabs the key and opens the cell.

“Okay, now can you lead us out of here cat?” Ryuji asks, looking at the now free cat.

“I SAID I AM NOT A CAT!” The cat yells again. “My name is Morgana.”

“Okay, Morgana. Lead the way.” Akira says taking a step back to let Morgana through.

Morgana goes up to a statue next to the drawbridge and this prompts Akira to pull it. This led to the drawbridge lowering and them running across it, almost running into another guard.

“Oh shit, not another one!” Ryuji exclaims as he lands on his butt.

 _Arsène, are you ready?_ Akira questions his inner self. **_Any time._ **Arsène responds back as Akira’s outfit appears again.

“Heh, nice outfit you got there,” Morgana remarks as he bounces off of Ryuji’s shoulder. “Let me show you something.” Which leads to Morgana yelling “ZORRO!” When Morgana finishes yelling that, a buff moustached individual appears behind the cat. “This is Zorro, my persona.”

The guard bursts into a black liquid as a Jack-O-Lantern and a demon with a horn appear.

 _Is that what I think it is?_ Akira questions himself looking at that one demon.

“Come on, stop staring off into space and prepare to fight.” Morgana says, somewhat in an orderly tone.

“Okay,” Akira replies as he turns to the demon with a horn. “EIHA!” He yells as Arsène once again appears behind him and that shadowy substance surrounds the demon, making it flinch backwards after the substance disappears.

“I knew you were an amateur.” Morgana remarks as he now prepares for his turn. “Let me show you how it’s done.” He finishes saying, now commanding his persona as he turns towards the Jack-O-Lantern. “Zorro, use Garu!”

The cat's persona appears behind him as it starts cutting the air with its sword. A gust of wind appears and is launched towards the Jack-O-Lantern, sending it flying backwards and landing on the ground.

“Strike at an enemies weakness to be able to strike again.” Morgana says while bouncing around. “Come on, let’s end this now.” Morgana finishes as he launches another garu towards the knocked down Jack-O-Lantern, killing it.

The demon still standing then rushes towards Akira, barely missing him with that horn but kicking him straight in the chest. Akira clutches his chest for a bit as he then rushes back towards the demon, making an upward slash. This sends the demon upwards as Morgana follows up with a garu, ending the battle.

“Hey, you called that power Persona, right Monamona?” Ryuji asks, looking at Morgana.

“Yes I did,” Morgana replies. “AND MY NAME IS MORGANA!” He follows up with yelling that.

“Persona, huh…” Akira thinks as his outfit changes back once again.

“Hm, that shouldn’t be happening.” Morgana says looking over at Akira. “ Your outfit should stay active when you are in here since it reflects your rebellious soul.”

“What are you saying?” Ryuji asks, looking dumbfounded yet again.

“Your Persona is a reflection of your rebellious soul which then reflects on the attire you wear.” Morgana begins explaining.

“Do you have any idea what Monamona is saying, dude?” Ryuji asks, looking over at Akira now.

“So my outfit reflects what I think a rebellious person looks like, is that correct Morgana?” Akira looks over at Morgana.

“That is correct, frizzy-hair.” Morgana confirms.

“It's Akira, by the way,” correcting Morgana on what his name is.

“And what about you blondie?” Morgana then looks over at Ryuji.

“It’s Ryuji, Ryuji Sakamoto.” Ryuji says, answering Morgana’s question.

“Come on now, let’s get you two out of here.” Morgana finishes as he is now running toward what they assume is the exit.

They reach another pair of stairs, run through what they assume is the entrance hall and into another hallway.

“Great, now let’s get the hell out of here.” Ryuji says as he rushes into a locked door. “Did you lie to us, Monamona?”

“Of course I didn’t lie to you,” Morgana replies as he turns towards the other door. “It’s this way.”

“This is still a closed off room though.” Ryuji deadpans.

“Well, there is a ventilation shaft.” Akira points out looking at said shaft.

“Great eyes!” Morgana exclaims as he turns towards it. “That is your way out.”  
“Great, lets get it off and get out of here.” Ryuji says flinging himself at the grate, successfully pulling it off while also falling to the ground. “Do you think the guards heard that?”

 _What am I going to do with him?_ Akira questions himself as he sighs outwardly.

As they start heading through the shaft, Ryuji turns around for a bit.

“What about you?” Ryuji asks Morgana, looking slightly concerned.

“I still have a mission to do here, you go on without me.” Morgana replies, shooing them out.

As they race out of the castle and into the streets, they hear an automated voice.

**You have now returned to the real world.**

_The real world? Was I dreaming yet again?_ Akira questions himself trying to understand the situation.

“The real world? Do you have any idea what that means?” Ryuji questions Akira, thinking he knows something.

“No idea… Uh look at the time.” Akira says looking at his phone to see the time.

“Oh crap, we’re extremely late.” Ryuji somewhat yells out.

“Hey, are you kids skipping school?” A police officer strolls up to them as another is standing beside him with a bike.

“We didn’t mean to, we just got lost and ended up in a castle.” Ryuji tries to explain the situation to them.

 _That idiot. What does he think is going to happen now?_ Akira questions himself as he turns back towards the cops.

“A castle? Okay, hand over your bag.” The aggressive officer orders. “We need to make sure you aren’t doing any drugs or anything.”

“Wah! But I’m serious though.” Ryuji exclaims, looking at the cops.

“Okay, that’s enough of your dreams out of you.” Akira deadpans, not looking impressed at his… friend? Could he call him a friend right now?

“Are you his friend?” The timid officer asks Akira.

“Somewhat, I only met him today.” Akira responds awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from the officer.

“Huh, you seem so close though…” The timid officer remarks. “Anyway, make sure you two get to school now.”

“Okay officer, I’ll do just that.” Akira responds as he bows down and starts to leave.

“Oh yeah, we’ll also be contacting your school about this.” The aggressive officer says before Ryuji starts following Akira.

“Dude, why did you say that, now they think that I’m just a daydreamer.” Ryuji says as he finally catches up with Akira.

“You try explaining what we saw and it doesn’t sound like you are doing drugs.” Akira replies looking over at Ryuji.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ryuji relents as they continue walking. “We better hurry up to school before we get in any more trouble.”

 _I’m already in so much trouble due to my record._ Akira thinks as he sighs. They start jogging in complete silence towards Shujin.

\----------------------------------------Take your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/11 - Shujin Academy (Afternoon)**

“What the…” Ryuji starts as they both look at the academy that is now there. “What happened to that castle?”

“I have no clue.” Akira replies as he is about to say something else.

“A castle huh, care to explain what you mean?” A man asks as he walks up to them from Shujin.

 _Crap, I am definitely in trouble now._ Akira thinks as he just stares at the man.

“We were on our way here, but we ended up at a castle instead.” Ryuji replies as he also just stares at the man.

“What’s this about a castle?” A man said, someone who they really did not want to meet right now.

“Kamoshida!?” Ryuji exclaims as he looks at the now present teacher.

“You were always on time when you were on the track team.” Kamoshida says as he shakes his head in disappointment. “What ever happened to that track star?”

“SHUT UP!” Ryuji yells at Kamoshida while shaking his fist. “That was all your-”

“How dare you yell at Mr.Kamoshida like that!” The other man exclaimed at Ryuji.

“Now now, let’s just say we were both at fault here.” Kamoshida tells the other man.

“Okay.” The other man relents. “But that doesn’t excuse you for being extremely late so come with me.”

Kamoshida just smiles at Ryuji as he passes and turns towards Akira. “Hm, do I know you from somewhere?” He questions still looking at Akira.

“Yeah, I saw a girl enter your car at the station.” Akira responds looking up at Kamoshida.

“Ah, that’s right.” Kamoshida finally realizes as he smiles back at Akira. “Make sure not to be late anymore though.”

“Of course sir.” Akira bowes as he passes Kamoshida.

“I hope you have a nice school year.” Kamoshida says with a creepy smile on his face.

 _Okay, that was a creepy smile._ Akira thinks to himself as Arsène responds. **_Well, we did see him wearing a pink speedo in that castle._ ** Which prompts Akira to respond in kind. _True._

Akira enters the school as he feels like everyone is staring at him. He just walks past them not thinking much of it and starts heading toward the faculty office. He goes up a flight of stairs and passes two people having a conversation. He hears something about the school no longer choosing the student and instead going for someone better. He looks at the sign above one of the doors and sees it says faculty office and goes in. He sees Ms.Kawakami sitting and goes up to her.

“Ugh… Unbelievable,” Kawakami says downtrodden. “Where have you been?”

“Uhh, I got lost on the way here?” Akira responds, thinking it is a good answer.

“Are you serious?” Kawakami asks while looking at Akira with this deadpanned look.

“I’m sorry about being late, I didn’t mean to.” Akira responds as he bows down.

“Anyway… Classes are letting out after 5th period today due to the subway accident.” Kawakami relents, now starting to get up. “By the way, I heard you were caught with ‘that’ Sakamoto-kun.”

“...’That’ Sakamoto-kun?” Akira asks questioningly, wondering what she meant by that.

“He’s big trouble, caused a commotion last year.” Kawakami responds, now leading Akira to the classroom, passing some more students on the way.

“You think he’s the one in the rumors?”

“The one with an assault charge?”

 _A rumor, huh?_ Akira questions as he continues following Kawakami.

“This’ll be your classroom for the year.” Kawakami says while pointing towards the room. “Make sure not to say anything stupid when introducing yourself.” As she now opens the door and leads them in.

“Hey, isn’t that the delinquent transfer student?”

“I heard he carries a knife to school.”

“Half a day late on his first day, truly a delinquent.”

“Alright class, settle down. We have a new student joining us from today onward.” Kawakami says, motioning to Akira to introduce himself.

“Hello everyone, I’m Akira Kurusu. I hope we can get along for the year.” Akira introduces himself while bowing, hoping to have made a good first impression.

“He seems quiet…”

“...But I bet when he loses it…”

Kawakami sighs. “Anyway, your seat…” She starts thinking, looking around the room. “That one, the one that is currently open. I’m sorry, but can the people around him please share your textbook with him.”

Akira starts walking to his new desk as he notices the girl from this morning.

“...Lies.” She says as Akira starts passing her.

“Good morning to you too.” Akira responds as he continues to his desk that sits behind her.

“Did you see that?”

“Do those two know each other?”

“Doesn’t that mean she’s cheating on him with Mr.Kamoshida?”

\----------------------------------------Take your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the class passes by uneventfully. Everyone was wary of him, so he couldn’t read anything. Hell, no one shared their textbook with him.

\----------------------------------------Take your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/11 - Shujin Academy (After School)**

After sitting in that boring class due to not being able to do much, Akira leaves the room to head home. When he leaves the room, it feels like that castle again as his head hurts a bit. He grabs it when Ms.Kawakami leaves the room.

“Is something the matter?” She questions, looking at Akira.

“Is this a castle?” He questions back, realizing too late how dumb that must have sounded.

Kawakami sighs after hearing that. “Oh right, we have a volleyball rally in two days, make sure not to miss it.” She says, slightly with a somewhat orderly tone.

“Thank you for telling me that.” Akira responds, still holding his head after the headache.

“You should also head straight home, Itsuki-san sounded worried when we told him what happened today.” She continues. “Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Make sure not-” She isn’t able to finish that sentence as Ryuji walks up. “Well, guess that doesn’t matter now. I heard you were caught by the police this morning. You also still haven’t dyed your hair back.”

Ryuji looks off to the side. “I didn’t want to be caught by the police, that was something I couldn’t control.” Ryuji responds, looking off to the side. “Also, sorry about not dying my hair back.”

“Uh, whatever.” Kawakami sighs as she shakes her head.

Ryuji walks up to Akira. “Meet me up on the roof later.” He whispers as he heads off.

“See what I mean, he’s nothing but trouble.” Kawakami finally says after Ryuji leaves. “Make sure to stay clear of influences like him.” She finishes as she herself heads off.

As Akira was starting to head to the roof, he sees Kamoshida and the principal walk up the flight of stairs. He stood there listening to them as they then left.

 _Well, that was a boring conversation. Don’t know why I listened in on them._ Akira thinks as he starts heading up the stairs for the roof. He passes by a student wearing a pink sweater talking to a teacher about some planters on the roof. He heads up the next flight of stairs and sees a door with a sign that has an off-limits sign.

He opens the door and walks up to Ryuji who was already there, sitting in one of the desks.

“Yo,” is all he says.

“Yo,” Akira responds as he starts leaning on one of the desks.

“Sorry for calling you up here,” Ryuji apologizes as he continues. “So, I bet Kawakami already told you to stay away from me.”

“Yep, told me you were trouble.” Akira responds as he shrugs it off.

“I also heard about that criminal record you had due to the rumors going around.” Ryuji goes on with.

“Figures all those things I heard were about me.” Akira looks down to the ground.

“That just means we’re pretty similar in some regard.” Ryuji says, trying to cheer up Akira. “Hey, you remember that castle? Do you think we could get back there?”

“How could I forget that?” Akira questions back at him. “I got hit twice by two metal shields. Also I have no clue how we got there in the first place, how should I know to get back there?”

“Yeah, guess that is true…” Ryuji looks down as he grabs hold of his stomach. “But that Kamoshida there totally reminds me of the one we know.”

“How so?” Akira questions, looking at Ryuji with a slightly tilted head.

“Kamoshida acts like the school is his own castle, no one does anything to stop him…” Ryuji responds, looking back at Akira with a serious look. “Probably all just cause he is an olympic gold medalist.”

“So the school only cares about being popular…” Akira thinks out loud.

“Yeah, they only care that they look good.” Ryuji responds, surprising Akira. “It’s getting late, we better head home now.”

“Y-Yeah.” Akira responds, still being surprised. “I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.”

\----------------------------------------Take your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**4/11 - Itsuki’s House (Evening)**

Akira finally got home after the long day. He was exhausted from that weird castle and also learning a lot of the rumors surrounding him. He isn’t expecting when he opens the door to Itsuki running out and hugging him tightly.

“D-D-Dad!?” Akira exclaims as he is surprised by the amount of force Itsuki is holding him with. All he heard in response though was his dad crying while whispering something he couldn’t understand. He hugs him back trying to help calm him down.

After a bit, Itsuki finally lets go of the hug but moves his hands to Akira’s shoulders. Akira still isn’t sure what that was about but decides to let go of his hug.

“Heh, guess that was something you weren’t expecting when you got home.” Itsuki says while staring down at Akira’s surprised face.

“Well yeah…” Akira replies looking off to the side. “I was expecting to get scolded for missing half of the day.”

“As much as I want to scold you for that, all I care about is that you’re safe.” Itsuki responds as he looks down sweetly at Akira.

“No teasing about what I was doing?” Akira asks as he tilts his head to the side, looking up at Itsuki.

“Eh, who knows. Maybe later when we’re eating.” Itsuki replies as he turns back towards his house. “I’m currently making dinner, so I hope you’re hungry.”

“Of course I’m hungry dad.” Akira responds as he starts following behind his dad.

They had a peaceful dinner, though with some teasing from Itsuki. After they finish eating and clean their dishes, they head to bed to finish the day.

\----------------------------------------Take your Time---------------------------------------------------------------

**Velvet Room**

When Akira feels himself getting conscious again, he hears piano music.

 _Oh come on, I just want some sleep._ Akira grumbles in his head as he starts to get up.

“Well, about time you came to… On your feet inmate!”

He hears the voice of Caroline yelling at him. She hits the bars trying to make him move faster.

“Our master wishes to speak with you.” The soft voice of Justine to his other side says. “You might want to take his words to heart if you wish to survive.”

“Firstly, let us celebrate our reunion.” Igor says as he leans off to the side. “...Oh, it seems you have awakened to your powers.”

“...Powers?” Akira asks, tilting his head with a questioning look on his face.

“The power of Persona, they are a mask for you.” Igor replies. “Are you making use of the Metaverse Navigator?”

“Metaverse… Navigator?” Akira once again asks.

“I put it on your phone and disguised it as an app.” Igor responds, motioning his hand off to the side.

“It’s the app that helped you infiltrate that palace you went into.” Caroline puts in.

“Wait, infiltrate? Like a thief?”

“Yes, we are here to help you become a great thief.” Igor answers the question. “That’s why we also want you to continue making bonds with more people.

“The bonds you make will help you grow stronger.” Justine puts in this time.

“You are currently making good progress with the Priest link you have.” Igor says, shaking his head somewhat. “Is it possible you already had a bond with him that grew brittle?”

“Well, I haven’t seen my dad in over ten years.” Akira responds, a little downtrodden at the time he was thinking.

“No matter, it only helps you in the end.” Igor waves off. “You need to focus on your rehabilitation for now and get stronger.”

As Igor finishes saying that, an alarm blares to life.

“It seems our time is done for now.” Igor says, looking at where Akira presumes where the alarm is. “Go back to the real world now.”

“Continue making bonds and growing stronger inmate.” Justine says as a sort of goodbye for now.

“If you don’t, we’ll make sure to beat it into you that they are necessary.” Caroline cuts in with, letting the baton in her hand hit her shoulder.

Akira passes out and sleep once again returns to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about the long wait for this chapter and how short it actually is. I originally had this chapter last much longer, but I just had to split it since it would have taken longer and the quality would have been worse. 
> 
> My mind was also busy thinking of future chapters instead of this one. One of those future chapters has been deemed "Chapter ?" since it is so far in the future and I don't know what number it is actually going to be. I've been busy torturing Dev by continuously teasing this chapter in front of him for what he did in one of his chapters for Wish.
> 
> Also, thanks to Dev for reading this chapter and making sure there were no mistakes and getting a first taste of my style of combat.
> 
> Edit: So yeah, after looking at the arcana. I have decided to change Itsuki's link from Aeon to Priest.


End file.
